Get started

Get started with Windows Runtime apps. You can write a Windows Runtime app in a variety of languages, such as C# or C++ with XAML, C++ with DirectX, and JavaScript with HTML/CSS. Now you can easily create apps for Windows devices and Windows Phone from a single project.

Get the samples

Sometimes, the best way to learn is to look at an example, so we've created hundreds of Windows Store and Windows Phone Store app samples for you to learn from. You can also download all the official samples at one time by getting the universal Windows app samples pack.

If you haven't done much coding before, but have a great idea for a phone app, start here. Bob Tabor's 9+ hour series covers developer scenarios to build outstanding Windows Phone 8.1 apps. If you’re completely new to software development, check out Bob's series on C# first.

Microsoft Technical Evangelist Jerry Nixon, and real world software expert Daren May, President of Crank211, a digital experience company, will teach you how to save time building apps for Phones, tablets, and PCs that share much of the same code base, using universal Windows app projects in Visual Studio.